Bonshaw

I also won a coin in session 5, no invoice yet. I got a type C Weidauer XV trite; I'm closing in on a full set that can illustrate style evolution and innovation during the first production Lydia Lion series (and the first coins fully qualified as "fiat money" IMO). I'm very much looking forward to seeing the types all together, and to posting here.

Here is an illustration of a "one bit" saloon (12 1/2 cents), showing how the "bit" as 1/8 dollar was still in use at the time, and 12 1/2 cents wasn't surprising as a pricing structure.

Fun fact: In the old West, a dime was called a "short bit" In a one-bit saloon, when you bought a drink with a quarter they gave you a short bit (dime) back. The short bit could be used to buy a second drink. In a higher end two-bit saloon, the drink was a quarter.

Two bits

I do absolutely love these Mytilene EL hektes. Gorgeous. I could stare all day. I have bid on them quite a few times, unsuccessfully! Perhaps someday.

Thanks for the reference - I just successfully downloaded the paper. As to the rarity, when I looked at acsearch for similar coins, there were a couple of this size with a goat's head, but without the same artistry. I found one other coin from a Nomos auction with a similar style, but not a die match, and not in as good condition. Still very nice - it is here: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10976452 (not my coin) I now see that Nomos had a pretty lengthy description, which provides some additional information: Description Collection Sans Pareille: Highly Important Collection of Greek Fractions AEOLIS. Aigai. Circa 480-450 BC. Hemiobol (Silver, 6.5 mm, 0.21 g). Goat's head to right, with long beard and a long, curving horn. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. AMNG p. 138, 24, Imhoof-Blumer, Monnaies Grecques, p. 110, 180, and SNG Oxford 2232 (all obols of the same type but of slightly earlier date). Extremely rare, unpublished save for its auction appearance, and with a goat's head of fine, Classical style. Some surface roughness, otherwise, nearly extremely fine. From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, ex Hauck & Aufhäuser 14, 6 October 1998, 115. There is a big problem with anepigraphic ancient Greek silver coins of the late 6th and 5th centuries BC, which bear goats as their primary type. Not only are there quite a number of coin-issuing cities that have the name Goat Town (Aigai and its variants: among other places they are in central Macedonia, on the Chalkidike, in Achaea, in Aeolis, in Cilicia, et al.), but other places, and peoples, used the goat as a coin type as well. Thus, coins that were confidently ascribed to a specific Aigai beginning in the late 19th century, have now been placed elsewhere. The bulk of types from Northern Greece are now assigned to tribal groups (the Mygdones and Krestones for example), but others, as those here, have been reattributed thanks to the evidence of findspots. Thus, the city of Aige in the Chalkidike has recently been assigned a number of coins that were previously considered to either be of uncertain origin or were located elsewhere; this is thanks solely to the clear evidence of recorded provenience.

Wow - thanks so much - it sounds like you know a lot more than I do! That is a very interesting point about the weight standard, and I'll want to follow up. Alas, I do not know any provenance details about this specific coin. The auction had no provenance, but attributed the type to a hemiobol (0.34 g) from Gemini IX (catalog here) - a different coin: https://issuu.com/hjb-ancientcoins/docs/gemini_ix/4 See Lot 14, listed as "not to be found in major references" I read elsewhere (I've lost the attribution) that it was generally found in Macedonian hordes, but I can't support that now. That is very interesting about the Pangaion Hills, which I understand is close to Thessalonika. Do you have any references to point me to? I'd love to read more.

That is an interesting topic! These coins generally show up in Macedonian hordes. This series of coins from the Thraco-Macedonian region seem conventionally attributed to Aigai. My understanding is that this arose from a play on words. The ancient greek word for goat, αίξ, sounding like the beginning of Aigai. I understand from reading Svoronos [1] some time ago (in my fairly rusty French) that αίξ actually refers specifically to she-goats, however, and many coins of larger denominations from this series clearly depict a male goat, which is τράγος. Which argues against Aigai. Since these do seem to be Macedonian, the safest bet seems to be that this is from an unknown Thraco-Macedonian tribe. I have read elsewhere that that goat was a pretty common symbol in the region, and was actually at some times a symbol of Macedonia. That doesn't mean that it isn't from Aigai. It certainly could be, and the play on words could have been real, originating with the she goat, and then evolving into a more general goat symbol. But Macedonia - I think that much is clear from the hordes. FYI, Svoronos is online here: [1] Svoronos, J. L'hellénisme primitif de la Macédoine, prouvé par la numismatique et l'or du Pangée. (Paris/Athens, 1919)

I'm very fond of this pretty little goat tetartemorion. I haven't seen a more detailed and lovely coin at under a quarter of a gram. Thraco-Macedonian region. Possibly Aigai? Silver Tetartemorion, circa 5th century BC. Obv: head of goat right. Rev: quadripartite incuse square. Diameter: 7 mm. Weight: 0.22 g. Reference: Aufhäuser 14, 1998, 115 (Aigai).

The auction doesn't explicitly say "ex", I interpret the language as listing other auctions of this type, rather than the same coin. Here is the listing language: I looked at the Roma 3 listing, and it is clearly a coin of the same type, but not the same actual coin either.

Here is my provincial of Messalina and Claudius' ill-fated son, Britannicus. Britannicus was born Tiberius Claudius Germanicus in AD 41, only a few weeks after his father became the emperor Claudius. His name was changed to Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus after the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. In the ancient sources he is most often simply Britannicus. Britannicus, Claudius' heir, did not end well after his mother's death, eventually being poisoned by his replacement, Nero. His two sisters, holding hands, decorate the reverse. Almost all copies of this coin have a countermark on his neck, making it seem less giraffe-like. It is nonetheless a very nice portrait. CAPPADOCIA. Caesaraea. Britannicus (41-55 AD)AE Bronze (21.1mm 5.7g)Obv: ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΒΡΙΤΑΝΝΙΚΟϹ. Bare head of Britannicus, rightRev: ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΕΤ Η / ΑΝΤωΝΙΑ ΟΚΤΑΟΥΙΑ . Claudia Octavia and Antonia, both holding cornucopias, clasp hands RPC I, 3656

There is a bidder at every auction that tenaciously wants everything that I want. This happened today at Triton XXVIII. When I don't bid on a lot that I desperately want, the thing I want goes for a song to this bidder. But if I do bid, it bids up to fearsome heights, back and forth between just me and my phantom bidder, before either I drop out, or I win (and regret it). I believe in my heart that this is the same person at every auction, although I have no evidence of it. He follows me from auction to auction. I bid on mostly obscure things... my opposing bidder likes the things that I like and bids on nothing else. I have a recurring nightmare that one day I will go to an auction, and my bidding counterpart will be there in person. I walk up to him. He is facing away. He turns towards me; and I see my own face. I believe that Shelley was speaking about ancient coins when he referred to "the shadows of all forms that think and live... dreams and the light imaginings of men, and all that faith creates or love desires, terrible, strange, sublime and beauteous shapes." These are the coins I seek. Terrible, strange, and sublime. Here is Shelley's longer quote Ere Babylon was dust, The Magus Zoroaster, my dead child, Met his own image walking in the garden. That apparition, sole of men, he saw. For know there are two worlds of life and death: One that which thou beholdest; but the other Is underneath the grave, where do inhabit The shadows of all forms that think and live, Till death unite them and they part no more; Dreams and the light imaginings of men, And all that faith creates or love desires, Terrible, strange, sublime and beauteous shapes. - Shelley, Prometheus Unbound and this explains my dream. Now I must find a coin with a Zoroastrian fire altar.

I love thinking about the human aspects of the very earliest electrum coin production from Lydia and Ionia. They were still figuring out how to do it, so it was still very creative and not boring. In those early coins, workmanship was high, even though artistry was rudimentary, as they figured out how to pair obverse dies with reverse simple punches. In Lydia Lions, the weight was controlled to the percent level, and the alloy composition was consistent. There was really good quality control. If strikes were incomplete they did not see the light of day. Centering was pretty good, if not perfect. It feels like they were having fun, even though the artistry was not up to what would come later in the Greek colonies. Consider this very early Lydian trite: they were proud of what they were figuring out. Lydia, Alyattes EL Trite – Third Stater (13mm, 4.70 g). Sardes mint. Head of roaring lion right, sun with three rays at 45 degrees on forehead / Two incuse square punches. Weidauer Group XV. Type D, the very first obverse die in the series.

Here is a wonderful report on the condition of Trajan's column, including medieval damage from quarrying out the metal clamps that hold the marble column drums together. These include the four clamps between each drum of the shaft removed from inside the staircase. Some clamps were quarried out straight through the external friezes, but only at 12 points, when this could have been done at 68. Earthquake damage is very minor. The condition report tells a remarkable story of our good fortune in having the column in such good shape. Description and Condition of Trajan’s Column, University of St. Andrews There are also nice photographs of the internal staircase.

Also, please post images or video if you have coins with glass-like or jade-like patina, I would love to see them! Not just Jade colored (those are cool too), but shiny and hard like jade or glass...